What next for Vekselberg?
Swiss companies suffer “stock market malus” because of Russian investor
Tricky situation: Four Swiss companies suffer from the connection to major shareholder Viktor Vekselberg. But you can’t get out of the connection precisely because of the sanctions.
Published: 01/29/2023 at 17:34
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Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg in St. Petersburg last summer. His connections to Swiss companies are a problem for them.
The Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg (66), who lives in Switzerland, has been a burden for the companies in which he is involved since the beginning of the war in Ukraine at the latest. Because of his closeness to Putin, the US has imposed economic sanctions on him since 2018.
Vekselberg recently made headlines again in this regard. Among other things, the United States has accused Swiss-Russian dual citizen Vladislav Osipov (51). This is said to have helped Vekselberg “hide” his superyacht.
The 78 meter long luxury ship has been fixed since April 2022. The American Department of Justice is dealing with how Vekselberg was able to freely use the luxury ship for so long despite the sanctions imposed on him in 2018. In the “SonntagsZeitung” the cover-up schemes illuminated. The US is also still considering whether this asset can be sold.
Effects on Swiss companies
The Swiss companies connected to Vekselberg are stuck in a dead end. The Russian holds large stakes in the industrial groups Oerlikon and Sulzer, as well as larger shares in the steel manufacturer Swiss Steel and the real estate group Züblin.
The Züblin company was already affected because Osipov was on the board of directors as Vekselberg’s representative and had to resign immediately after the indictment and the arrest warrant were published.
But the “Vekselberg penalty” is worse. A negative development in the share price that is due to the association of these companies with Vekselberg. All four of the companies mentioned have lagged behind the Swiss Performance Index since 2018.
Many companies are unwilling to inject money into a company where a Russian oligarch is the main shareholder. In addition, there are more recent sanctions – Sulzer, for example, had to close its branches in Poland due to a government order.
No exit scenario
Discussions are underway in the companies concerned about the possibility of selling Vekselberg’s packages. In an interview with “Bilanz”, Sulzer’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Suzanne Thoma, acknowledges Vekselberg’s many years of commitment to the group, through thick and thin. A solution to the problem was even promised last summer.
But Vekselberg is still a Sulzer shareholder. Just like the other companies. The crux: nobody wants to buy Vekselberg’s shares. For fear of violating existing sanctions. Vekselberg himself has no interest in selling either: the proceeds would end up directly in blocked accounts. The companies will probably have to persevere.
